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^u£ GREAT WAR: 



A REVIEW IN 
MINIATURE. 

By 

Katharine Stanbery Burgess. 



DEC '"' 




29 



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American Red Gross. 

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THE GREAT 
WAR: 

A REVIEW IN 
MINIATURE. 

BY 

Katharine Stanbery Burgess. 



Sold for the Benefit of the 

American Red Cross. 



Courier Company q ^^^ Zanesville, Ohio. 



THE GREAT WAR. 

This is to be the very briefest history 
ot the Great War that can possibly be 
written. It is not an exhanstive re- 
view, nor even a short stndy of condi- 
tions and events ; it is a hasty outhne, 
for hasty reading, of only the most 
salient features, intended for those peo- 
ple who, for one reason or another, 
read nothing at the ontbreak, and con- 
sequcntlv know nothing now of what it 
is all about. It is only a skeleton sketch, 
presented so that he who runs may 
read — in a quarter of an hour. 

On June 28, 19 14, the Crown Prince 
of Austro-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand 
(nephew of the aged Emperor, Franz 
Joseph ) .accompanied by his morganatic 
wife, the Duchess of Hohenburg, was 
on a political visit to Serajevo, the cap- 
ital of Bosnia, which is a province of 
Austro-Hungary, but which had, till 
1908, belonged to Serbia. While driv- 
ing through the streets, they were kill- 
ed by a bomb thrown from an upper 

3 



window by a Serbian named Cabrino- 
vic. It was claimed by the Austrian 
Government that he was a tool of the 
Narodna Odbrana, a Serbian secret so- 
ciety for the promulgation of doctrines 
of sedition against Austria. On July 
27,, Austria addressed an ultimatum to 
the Serbian Government demanding 
the punishment of the offenders and the 
dismissal of all the high officials and 
army officers who were suspected of 
complicity ; also that all such secret so- 
cieties be dissolved ; that public schools 
in Serbia eliminate teaching against the 
sovereignty of Austria; that the ship- 
ment of arms and ammunition across 
the Austro-Serbian frontier be prohib- 
ited-; that all publications in Serbia 
inimical to Austria be suppressed; and 
that the Serbian Government accept the 
coUahorathn of Austria in the suppres- 
sion of the subversive movement against 
that monarchy. Forty-eight hours were 
given for a satisfactory reply. 

Serbia replied within the time and 
offered full satisfaction, protesting only 
against certain details (such as Aus- 
tria's participation in the prosecution 

4 



and punishment), and proposing to 
leave all differences to be settled by the 
International Tribunal at the Hague, 
or by the Powers interested at the time 
of the transfer of Bosnia to Austria. 
The Dual Monarchy (as Austro-Hun- 
gary is called), refused, in spite of pro- 
tests and offers of mediation from Eng- 
land, Russia, France and Italy, to ac- 
cept Serbia's terms of restitution, show- 
ing that she (Austria) had been bent 
on aggression, with the murders only 
as a pretext. The Great Powers had 
called on Germany also to protest, and 
she pretended to do so, saying, how- 
ever, that it should be a matter between 
Austria and Serbia alone. 

On July 28, Austria declared war on 
Serbia, and immediately followed this 
up by the force of arms, before which 
the Serbian armies and strongholds 
went down, after a gallant defense of 
many months. Russia, who had been 
the friend and protector of Serbia, not 
only protested, but mobilized at once 
against Austria and even Germany, 
whom all Europe suspected of aiding 
and abetting Austria in the quarrel, if 



not of actually instigating- it. The Re- 
public of France, bound by the alliance 
called the Triple Entente (France, Eng- 
land and Russia), rose to the defense of 
Russia, whereupon Germany turned 
around to crush France. 

This was Germany's long hoped for 
chance for spreading her empire west- 
ward and eastward. She proposed to 
Belgium and to the little independent 
grand duchy of Luxemburg that she 
l)e allowed to send her troops through 
their territory into France ; and to Eng- 
land that that country stand by and al- 
low the offense to be committed. This 
in spite of a treaty to which Germany, 
England and France were parties, al- 
ways to respect the neutrality and in- 
tegrity of Belgium ; but the German 
Imperial Chancellor, Herr von Beth- 
mann-Hollweg, assured the English 
Ambassador to Berlin that Germany 
contemplated no acquisition of French 
home territory — only punishment. 
Engiand. through her Foreign Secre- 
tary, Sir Edward Grey, wlio conducted 
all negotiations (instead of her Pre- 
mier, ]\Ir. Asquith). refused, owing to 

.6 



lier treaties and to the honor of na- 
tions. Lnxeniburg- suffered the pass- 
age, but Belgium ( through the Minis- 
try and King- All)ert) refused to be 
made the j)ath\vay of the enemies of 
France, and mobihzed against the in- 
^•aders. 

On August I, Germany had declared 
war against Russia ; now, on August 

3. she commenced the siege of Liege 
( in Belgium ) . and on the next day de- 
clared war. On that same day, August 

4, England declared war on Germany, 
and Lord Kitchener prepared a cam- 
paign, sending over regular troops and 
raising a further volunteer army. 
( This great general was drowned in 
the summer of 1916, when his ship, 
on the northern passage to Russia, 
struck a mine near the north coast of 
vScotland. He has been succeeded as 
Commander-in-Chief by General Rob- 
ertson.) 

Italy did not enter the war until the 
spring of 191 5. and then on the side of 
the Allies (Triple Entente). She, with 
Germany and Austria, had formed the 
old "Triple Alliance"; but she refused 

7 



to join them at the first, as the terms 
of their treaty bound her to join them 
only in case of zmr into which the other 
two zifere drctzmv by self-defense. They 
tried to coerce her, but she remained 
neutral until 19 15, when self-protec- 
tion caused her to declare war on Aus- 
tria alone. This conflict with her old 
ally she has waged ever since, with 
great losses on both sides and no con- 
clusive victory. In course of time, 
Turkey and Bulgaria were drawn in 
with Germany and Austria, and these 
four are now known as the Central 
Powers (or, sometimes, the Teutonic 
Powers, on account of the domination 
of Germany and Austria). The two 
new powers were prompted by self-in- 
terest and by assurances of support and 
protection and aggrandizement: and it 
is well known that through them Ger- 
many saw her way to the Black Sea 
and the Far East. 

The fires of war spread ; and finally 
the Entente Allies comprised (in order 
of their entrance) : Serbia, Russia, Eng- 
land, France, Belgium, Montenegro, 
Japan, Italy, Portugal and Rumania. 

8 



Belgimti, Serbia, Montenegro (Italy's 
friend) and Rumania were soon crush- 
ed and subjugated — Montenegro, in- 
deed, surrendered; Japan (brought in 
on account of England and Russia) 
confined her warfare to operations in 
Eastern waters and chiefly against 
German stations in China; and Portu- 
gal, beyond some brilliant assistance 
to the Allies in Africa, has been a bel- 
ligerent in name only. The African 
campaign was waged by the colonies 
of the opposing nations, resulting most- 
ly to the advantage of the Allies. A 
German and Turkish offensive was 
sent into Egypt against the British rule, 
but that w'as ineffective. 

Belgium, through a long series of 
battles, sieges, rapine, devastation and 
wanton murders and cruelties, fell a 
prey to German rage in the first autumn 
of the war. Forts, cities, villages, all 
the land, went down before the con- 
querors, who soon took the capital, 
Brussels, and, before long, the fortified 
city of Antwerp, to which the seat of 
government had been hastily trans- 
ferred. The government was then set 

9 



up at Bordeaux, in France. Habita- 
tions, churches and all the monuments 
of civilization were destroyed, huge in- 
demnities (for resistance!) were im- 
])osed on the nation, railways, factories 
and all public works were confiscated, 
citizens were deported to Germany, and 
the conquerors' occupation began, in 
every sense. The Belgian Army, after 
long resistance, escaped and joined 
forces with the French Army, though a 
number of troops, being driven across 
I he border into neutral Holland, were 
obliged to submit to internment there; 
cuid as many of the stricken population 
as could, in the early days when exit 
was possible, fled to England, where 
they found sanctuary. 

The German Chancellor had declared 
in the Reichstag (the Imperial Parlia- 
ment) that the treaty concerning Bel- 
gium was only "a. scrap of paper," 
which Germany might tear up at will. 
And so it was done. And when the 
army reached France, a similar cam- 
paign was begun. In spite of the Chan- 
cellor's assurances to England, Ger- 
many zimited Paris; and what was 

10 



more, she wanted Calais, from which 
to strike at England, whom she now 
hated with the most bitter fury for 
liaving meddled and interposed. Up 
and down the northeast territory of 
France, the battles (chiefly trench war- 
fare) have raged, success fluctuating 
from one side to the other, and neither 
side gaining a conclusive victory. Af- 
ter the long and murderous battles of 
Mons, the Marne, the Aisne and the 
Somme, the two great objectives still 
remain inviolate; but the country to 
the southwest of Belgium has been for 
two years and a half in the possession 
of the enemy, who has held Belgium 
as a base. The recent Franco-British 
drive, which, under the joint command 
of General Nivelle (successor to Gen- 
eral Joffre) and General Sir Douglas 
Haig (successor to General Sir John 
French), has driven the Germans back 
toward this base, is revealing the oc- 
cupied and now abandoned territory 
to have been as ruthlessly devastated 
and depleted of inhabitants, civilization 
and possibilities of agriculture as was 
ever Belgium itself. As I write, the 

11 



Allies are closing in around St. Quen- 
tin and successfully storming the whole 
Arras front, the great rear stronghold 
of the German Commander, Field Mar- 
shal von Hindenburg; but it is not safe 

to predict the outcome 

This is France's "punishment" ; and 
yet the German Kaiser, Wilhelm II, 
of the Prussian House of Hohenzollern, 
has claimed that the war was forced 
upon him and his people by the avarice 
and treachery of England, who was 
moved to the defense of Belgium only 
by the desire to remain mistress of the 
seas, and greed to wrest from Germany 
all of her world trade! 

England set herself to starve out Ger- 
many by the naval cordon which she 
drew around German ports and ap- 
proaches ; and the large majority of the 
German fleet has remained, perforce, 
bottled up in the Baltic. But her sea 
raiders roved the oceans of the world, 
destroying Allied shipping, and her 
submarine warfare has inflicted the 
greatest damage on the British Navy 
and merchant marine and private ship- 
ping, as well as on those of the other Al- 

12 



lies ; and lately on the shipping of neu- 
tral countries, even hospital and relief 
ships not being' exempted. Admiral 
von Tirpitz is the instigator of this war- 
fare. England has caught and destroy- 
ed many of these submarines, and the 
damage they inflict is on only a small 
per cent of the entire sailing list; yet 
it is still a menace to be reckoned with. 
The Zeppelin expeditions against Eng- 
land, while wreaking much destruction, 
have not been wholly successful, many 
dirigibles having been brought down, 
and the results not justifying the cost 
to Germany in money or lives. Aero- 
planes have become so common in all 
the greater armies that they have 
changed the balance but little on either 
side. 

Holland, Denmark, Norway and 
Sweden, having as yet remained neu- 
tral, have allowed some food supplies 
to slip into Germany, and she has com- 
mandeered the crops of conquered Ru- 
mania; but her own production is far 
too short, and she is facing a real fam- 
ine, which may turn the tide of battle 
before arms shall have a chance to pre- 

13 



vail. It is for this reason that she has 
enlarged the scope of her submarine 
aggressions, in the last two months and 
a half, without regard to international 
law or humanity, having put all neutral 
shipping under the ban, except as sub- 
ject to the most impossible and humil- 
iating restrictions. Yet the British 
blockade still goes on, undeterred by 
is own fractional losses. 

On vSeptember i, 19 14, Russia 
changed the historic name of her cap- 
ital, St. Petersburg (a Teutonic deriv- 
ative), to the Russian form, Petrograd. 
The Czar, Nicholas II, suffered his 
cousin, the Grand Duke Nicholas, to 
command the army, which was vary- 
ingly successful — its first great drive 
against Austria came very near to be- 
ing a \'ictory, but through some mys- 
terious means w^as turned to a defeat. 
Then the Czar banished his cousin to 
the Eastern campaign and assumed the 
role of Commander-in-Chief himself 
(though not in the field). The net re- 
sult was no better, despite the great 
bravery and efficiency of the army ; and 
it finally developed that Russia, the 

14 



great Ally, was being- honey-combed 
by German propaganda and espionage, 
which accomphshed many failures in 
the field and a huge shortage in the food 
supply ; there was treachery in the Cab- 
inet and at the Court itself. The whole 
thing culminated in the Russian Revo- 
lution, on March 15, this year ( 1917), 
when, wMth little bloodshed, the Czar 
was deposed, a new democracy formed, 
the government put into the hands of 
the Duma (Parliament) and a tem- 
porary Committee, the Jews enfran- 
chised, political prisoners pardoned (in- 
cluding those in Siberia) and the Grand 
Duke Nicholas recalled to the command 
of the Army. The new order of things 
is still an experiment ; the danger lies 
in the extreme swing of the pendulum, 
and in the very faint chance of Ger- 
many being able to persuade the new 
democracy to a separate peace. 

But the Army and the Navy have 
sworn allegiance to the revolutionary 
government ; and the latest operations in 
the East (southward, against the 
Turks) have been wholly successful; 
the Russian force has swept down, car- 

15 



rying victory before it, taking Turkish 
strongholds, one after another, past 
Kermanshah, in Persia, till it has join- 
ed the great British Army of General 
Maude. This mighty English expedi- 
tion, across almost insuperable barriers, 
has forged eastward, taken historic 
Bagdad from the Turks, and progressed 
northward until the Anglo-Russian 
chain is complete. 

Greece, which has been right in the 
Eastern theater of war, has so far been 
able to keep out of a declaration and 
actual belligerency, though only after 
serious internal conflict between the 
opinions and forces of King Constan- 
tine (declaredly neutral, but probably 
influenced by his Queen, Sophie, the 
sister of the Kaiser) and those of Pre- 
mier Venezelos, who, w^ith a large part 
of the country behind him, was pro- 
gressive and violently pro-Ally. Greece 
has not entered the war on either side, 
but the Allies have virtually seized it 
as a basis of operations and established 
over it an enforced protectorate, mil- 
itary and political, and have compen- 
sated it with immense financial aid. 

16 



Russian Poland, being part of Rus- 
sian territory, fell during the western 
reverses of the great empire, and has 
been reduced to a state resembling that 
of devastated Serbia. Switzerland, 
whether because of the strong treaties 
that protect her or because of her im- 
pregnable mountain passes, is still neu- 
tral. Spain too is neutral, though she 
is now receiving affronts from Germany 
in the sinking of her vessels. 

In 1 916, Germany offered peace to 
the Allies ; on terms of her own, how- 
ever, among which was her continued 
occupation of Belgium, beside other 
impossible demands. They were cate- 
gorically and unequivocally rejected; 
and it was on this ground, as well as to 
break the blockade, that she avowed her 
intention (which she is now carrying 
out) of making her submarine warfare 
more of a reign of terror than ever — 
of punishing her enemies till they 
should cry Enough ! The revolutionary 
spirit is contagious, and it is on the 
point of breaking out in Germany; but 
the Government, on the other hand, is 
attempting to sow seeds of sedition and 

17 



of submission to Germany in the new 
Russian democracy, beside planning a 
campaign to break into Russian terri- 
tory by land and by sea. How long this 
diamond-cut-diamond struggle can hold 
out. how long the decimated armies and 
populations, the low credits, the scarce 
munitions and scarcer food supplies will 
last, is still problematical — with so 
many odds on both sides. 

America's Part in tlic War. 

At the very outset, almost, of hostil- 
ities, when the Germans invaded Bel- 
gium and committed acts that were the 
horror of the whole world, American 
indignation was aroused. There was 
then no compelling cause for the en- 
trance of the United States into the 
war, but the Allied nations did expect 
it to make a formal, if not a threaten- 
ing, protest to the German Government, 
in the name of justice and humanity. 
This protest was not forthcoming, and 
the watchword that was given out to all 
American citizens was ''Neutrality" ; 
though this did not prevent the sending 
of immense relief of all kinds to strick- 

18 



en Belgium — and later to France, Po- 
land. Serbia and other oppressed and 
famished peoples. 

Business and trade proceeded — 
though not as usual. Imports from 
Germany became fewer and fewer, on 
account of the blockade kept up by Eng- 
land, and finally ceased altogether; 
then when the German submarine sys- 
tem became such a great menace, those 
from Allied countries fell off. Exports 
suffered from the same causes, though 
in a different way. England instituted 
detention and search of American mer- 
chant vessels bound for hostile and 
even neutral countries, for contraband 
articles and materials. This was the 
subject of much diplomatic wrangling; 
but the United States finally accepted 
England's attitude, especially as it was 
only a matter of delay and not neces- 
sarily of confiscation w-hen nothing con- 
traband was discovered. Immense 
amounts of foodstuffs, ammunition and 
raw materials were being supplied to 
the Allies by American private inter- 
ests, but the blockade effectually pre- 

19 



vented any so disposed from selling to 
Germany and her colleagues. 

The conditions of the European War 
affected the prosperity of the United 
States enormously, both for good and 
for bad ; and it is doubtful whether this 
would finally have been taken into ac- 
count. But it was the loss of Ameri- 
can lives, on passenger ships and on 
merchant vessels belonging to the Al- 
lies, that became the most crying men- 
ace, the sinking of the Liisitama, in 
the spring of 191 5, being the greatest 
and most wholesale murder to which 
the country was forced to submit. Otir 
own ships, even, were not exempt ; but 
the Government at Washington trusted, 
for a long time and with much pa- 
tience, to diplomacy to avert the evil 
effects of such acts and to hold Ger- 
many and Austria (the latter' s subma- 
rines had also sunk many ships) to 
commit no more. 

Meanwhile, the United States was 
found to be a hotbed of German plots 
and espionage, and the destruction of 
various ammunition plants and grain 
elevators has been laid to their success. 

20 



Our own insufficient army was en- 
gaged, off and on, with the revolutions 
and counter-revolutions in Mexico, 
which made more than one murderous 
break over the border into our own ter- 
ritory ; and the sight of our inefficiency 
there must have been a cheering thing 
to Germany, for she planted propaganda 
in Mexico against the United States — 
propaganda which has long been sus- 
pected, but which has only recently 
come to light. On the strength of our 
threatened quarrel with Japan (con- 
cerning Japanese immigration), she at- 
tempted an intrigue with that country, 
also, in spite of the fact that Japan was 
already sworn to the side of the Allies ! 
Both plots, happily, have failed; Mex- 
ico is still a dangerous menace, but the 
searchlight is turned on her and her 
Teutonic accomplice; and Japan has 
pledged us her faith. 

When, in January last, Germany an- 
nounced her unrestricted submarine 
warfare, to commence on February i, 
our Government could stand the strain 
no longer; and on February 2 it broke 
off diplomatic relations with Germany, 

21 



gave her Ambassador, Count von Bern- 
storff, his passports and recalled our 
own Ambassador, Gerard, from Ber- 
lin. Our Congress was on the eve of 
adjournment ; and l)efore the Presi- 
dent, Mr. Wilson, could obtain from it 
the authority to arm our merchant ships 
and send them out to brave the subma- 
rine danger, a small pacifist element in 
the Senate filibustered over the measure 
until it was too late, and the adjourn- 
ment was accomplished. But the Pres- 
ident went ahead and armed the ships, 
backed by legal authority, and called an 
extra session of the whole Congress for 
April 2. 

Meanwhile the depredations went on, 
and it was about this time that the Ger- 
man plots with Mexico and Japan were 
unearthed. \\^hen Congress met, the 
President appeared before a joint ses- 
sion and delivered a speech for War — 
a speech which has rung through the 
world as the greatest battle cry for 
freedom since Gettysburg, and which 
has redeemed America in the eyes of all 
nations fighting for, or believing in, 
right, justice and democracy. The Sen- 

22 



ate, on April 4, and the House of Rep- 
resentatives, on April 5, passed the war 
resolution : and on Friday, the 6th of 
.\pril, the United States declared war 
on Germany, 

Cuba declared war on Germany on 
April 7 : Brazil and other South Amer- 
ican countries are breaking with the 
Teutonic powers, and China is on the 
verge of war with Germany. Austria 
broke off diplomatic relations with us 
on April 7. 

We are only half prepared, as to an 
Army and a Navy, to enter the con- 
flict; but preparations are being ad- 
vanced on an immense scale, and mean- 
while the very name of our support is 
putting life into the Allies and men- 
acing the cause of Germany — especially 
as Austria, Bulgaria and Turkey are 
beginning to show signs of war weari- 
ness, and as Socialist pressure in Ger- 
many itself is already threatening the 
autocracy of the Imperial Government. 
And as Congress is now passing a $7,- 
000,000,000.00 war loan, $3,000,000,- 
000.00 of which will go to the Allies, 
our monetary assistance will play a 
23 



great part in the earlier restoration of 
peace, beside the munitions and food- 
stuffs which we shall continue to send 
over. Coast defense and military con- 
trol of alien uprising here at home we 
shall be obliged to keep up from the 
very start, beside a strong defensive 
against Mexico; and a large army of 
tillers of the soil must be organized and 
maintained in order to increase our al- 
ready short food supply and to feed our- 
selves and our Allies. The country is 
at w^ar in every sense of the word, 
whether an American regiment ever 
sets foot on foreign territory or not. 

The story of our belated entrance and 
the political, military, naval and eco- 
nomic outlook for America are long 
and complicated ; but I have condensed 
them into a few words for two reasons. 
Those who have neglected European 
history have at least kept abreast of 
developments in our own country dur- 
ing the last two months, in all probabil- 
ity; and as I write, events are chang- 
ing so rapidly around us that to keep 
this little pamphlet from the press from 
day to day, in order to add to the story, 

24 



would mean an endless delay. From 
this point on, anyone who has read 
what I have written may easily pick up 
the threads, even if he must go back a 
week or more from the date of publi- 
cation. He must remember, too, that 
I have not meant to write an offensive- 
ly partisan account of the story of the 
war, nor, in this latter part of it, a pat- 
riotic appeal ; that is not needed. This 
is intended only as salient information. 
The most beautiful factor of the 
War — of all wars — ^I have left till the 
last: the Red Cross. Where warfare 
destroys, the Red Cross saves, builds, 
uplifts. It is kept up by all civilized 
nations in order to make war less hide- 
ous and to rescue the brave and the in- 
nocent from the jaws of death and 
from suffering; it is love following in 
the wake of hatred. Like our Army 
and Navy, this Deparment of Mercy in 
our country has been sadly deficient in 
size, though not in proportionate effici- 
ency; now^ it is being enlarged, 
strengthened, recruited for, until soon 
we shall support one of the greatest or- 
ganizations in the world. There is too 

25 



much charity in America for the Red 
Cross to fail. 

The Day has come none too soon. 
This is not only a war of self-defense 
for ns : whatever our fortunes, it will 
go down to history as a war for the 
establishment of Righteousness through- 
out the world. 

April i6, 1917. 




26 



TTRRftRY OF CONGRESS 

HH. 



